Combination blouse



Feb. 9, 1954 1.. LEVY COMBINATION BLOUSE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13,1951 m m m fliformegs 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a ////////V/////////A jNVENTOR.Leonard lflLevy A Tierney;

Feb. 9, 1954 LEVY COMBINATION BLOUSE Filed Feb. 15, 1951 Patented Feb.9, 1954 $568,293 GDMKWATION BLOUSE la ansnddicli vr, danhurstrmay. finvf'q fi fll l uazt f ;Sef a NB-,. .1f ,686

(clue-lace) The present inventid relates to articles of wearingapparel,- and more-particu 'rily-to an; improved construction of a ladysl; dose.

The improved construction has for-an im portantobject the provision oram improved blouse. construction which is extrsurely simple tomake butwhich is oapablezof being-J worn i'n' a variety of styles for efiectingwide differences in app'earancerwithout changes in the construction orpattern .of the blouse.

Further objects of the improved construction willbecomelalmarentia'sithe description proceeds and the features of noveltywill be pointed out in particiularity in the appended claims.

(Generally speaking; the improved blouse of the present inventioncomprises. van envelopelike fabriebody cut on the bias and. havin seamsat'both sides intersectingthe armholes. Above the armholes, the seamsextend to the upper end of the garment and which is turned downsubstantially to the top of the armholes and sewed as a hem. The blouseis provided with slide fastening means on one side which extends fromthe bottom to a point spaced below the armhole. The blouse may be worneither outside or inside of a skirt, and either with or without a belt.

An important feature of the present blouse construction is that itpermits a wide variation in styles of the neck-line in order to effectwidely different style appearances with the same blouse construction.Thus it may be worn high on the neck (Fig. 1) in the form of a highgathered choker or sport neckline with a ribbon tied around the neckportion in order that the blouse can be gathered about the neck of thewearer; or it may be .worn falling loosely around the shoulders (Fig.2), or it may be worn draped to a point and held by a clasp to form aplunging or V-neck1ine (Fig. 3), or it may be draped to present asweetheart or square neckline (Fig. 4) held by a pin or clasp at eachside. These different eifects being obtainable because of the particularmanner in which the body of the blouse is cut and patterned.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, are front elevational views of my improved blouse,showing different neckline arrangements.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the blouse garment.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the blouse taken at right angles to Fig.5, partly in section, and showing the slide fastener partially open.

able fabr t on a lq iais and; ha contour-formingda tjs 'l spa ed ela ionh. z and 3: he be STA" said row of stitc g' 2 bottom rith b o .e to thetopofthe armholel'totlie on o On the opposite side, there may b p videdfa" s idefa t n rffi e ea a f st ing the ne' e s or thiehody b t'icfiiicf tfie w1 re ast extending u wardly from the be in of the b ous t adsired,n n shqrt .0 3 116 a i and a sectionr ofsid'e stitching'a extendsfrom the slide fastener structure 5 to the bottom of said armhole 6.This stitching is continued as indicated at 3 from the top of thearmhole 6 to the top 20 of the blouse. All edges of the blouse body arehemmed as is indicated at 8 and 9. The upper portion ID of the blousebody tapers downwardly to the waist line l9 and the lower portionupwardly from the bottom to said waist line. It will be apparent thatthe top end of the body is turned down as shown at H adjacent to the topof the armholes and then stitched as indicated at [2 to form a hem. Thisdefines the neck of the blouse, and there may be secured to the neckportion II a ribbon or other gathering member I3, held if desired inloops l3 for enabling the neck of the blouse to be worn high, as shownin Fig. 1, forming a high gathered choker or sport neckline; or theupper portions of the blouse may be arranged loosely around theshoulders of the wearer, as is indicated in Fig. 2, wherein the upperportion is arranged to fall into loose folds [4 about the wearer'sshoulders and forming an off shoulder neckline for evening wear.

As further modifications in style, the top of the blouse may be droppedto a point, as is indicated at I5 (Fig. 3), the folds being gatheredeither by a central clasp I 6, or by two side clasps H, as is indicatedin Fig. 4, all that is necessary to achieve these different selectiveefiects being to have suflicient material between the hem l2 and the topof the blouse to enable the folds M to be adjusted about the shoulders.

From the above it will be apparent that the particular or instant upperportion of the blouse is so constructed and arranged that it may beformed into folds adapted to be adjusted about the shoulders andotherwise manipulated in a manner to form a variety of neckline styleeffects without disturbing the original blouse construction, forinstance, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 illustrates a high gatheredchoker or sport neckline; Fig. 2, an off the shoulder neckline forevening wear; Fig. 3, a plunging type or V-neckline for general wear,and Fig. 4, a sweetheart type neckline for cocktail or dinner wear.These style arrangements are not to be considered as limitations buthave been selected as representative'for purposes of description, andmany other different neckline style arrangements may be attained byreason of such blouse construction.

What is claimed is:

1. A blouse comprising an envelope-like body member having open top andbottom ends and provided with oppositely positioned armhole portions,the body member inwardly converging from the bottom end to a waistportion and i then having upper portions diverging from the waistportion to the top end, the upper portions of the body member beingsubstantially larger than the lower portions, the top end of said bodyabove the armholes being formed to provide a neck portion for enablingthe neck portion to be worn high around the neck of the wearer andloosely around the shoulders thereof selectively, means for gatheringsaid neck portion high around the neck of the wear-er and releasablelateral fastening means for the blouse body for enabling the readydonning and removing of the garment.

2. A blouse comprising an envelope body member having completely opentop and bottom ends and provided with oppositely positioned armholeportions, the body member inwardly converging to a waist portion andthen having upper portions diverging to the top end, the upper portionsof the body member being substantially larger than the lower portions,the converging and diverging portions having curvatures approximatelyfollowing the normal curvatures of a wearer's body, the body portionbeing substantially circular in transverse cross-sections throughout itsextent, the said open top end being turned downwardly adjacent to thetop of the armhole portions, a line of stitching extending around thebody portion securing the turned-down open top end and defining a hem,the turned-down open end of the body portion being a neck openingcommensurate in extent with the entire cross-section of the bodyportion, a gathering member slidably attached to the body portion andengaging the body portion rearwardly thereof approximately midwaybetween the said hem and neck opening, the gathering member arranged forenabling a selective production of a selected height of neckline by thewearer, between a high choker sport efieot adjacent to the chin of thewearer and folded loosely around the shoulders to expose the chest ofthe wearer, and releasable lateral fastening means for the blouse bodyfor enabling the ready donning and removal of the blouse by the wearer.

LEONARD L. LEVY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,046,350 Victorious July '7, 1936 2,388,926 Mirsky Nov. 13,1945 2,460,253 Goldstein Jan. 25, 1949 2,462,706 Alberich Feb. 22, 1949.1 r il

